Shelby Township senior complex fire displaces residents

More than 80 residents of more than 30 units at a Shelby Township senior citizen apartment complex were displaced Saturday morning by a fire.

About two dozen of the residents of Shelby Manor Senior Apartments had to be rescued from the three-level structure about 7 a.m., many of them plucked from balconies and lowered down in a ladder truck bucket.

The fire followed an explosion and reports of smoke-filled hallways.

“I thought I was a goner for sure,” the Rev. Leonard Sypinski told a Detroit TV station after he was rescued from a balcony. “I am so lucky.”

No one was seriously injured in the incident on Lakeside Boulevard North near Schoenherr and Hall roads, although several residents of unit B were treated for smoke inhalation.

They suffered emotional wounds.

“It was quite a traumatic experience for the residents,” said Allison Koenigbauer, spokeswoman for the Southeast Chapter of the American Red Cross, which responded to the scene with food, clothing and shelter offers.

“There was quite a bit of tears and confusion for the residents. Some of them were wearing robes and slippers. It was definitely emotional for them. For some of them that’s all they had.”

Four units were badly damaged, while other units in the building received smoke and water damage, said Battalion Chief Lance Waters of the Shelby Township Fire Department.

Waters said the cause of the fire is under investigation. One resident said in a broadcast report she believed the fire started in her furnace.

Koenigbauer said residents of 20 units were provided funds for clothing, food and two nights at a hotel. They were given referrals to other agencies for additional assistance.

Red Cross officials will return to the facility Monday to assist residents who left or were taken to the hospital prior to them arriving, she said.

In addition to the township, a dozen other fire departments responded to the three-alarm blaze, including those from Utica, Washington Township, Sterling Heights and Warren, according to a broadcast report.

Koenigbauer reminded people to be extra careful as winter approaches, a time of they year when many deploy an additional heating source, a potential fire hazard.

“We see a spike in the number of fires this time of year,” she said. “It’s a time to be careful and practice fire safety and make sure your smoke detector is working.”